India-Listed International Funds
Buy US market exposure in ₹ — no LRS, no TCS, no forex conversion friction. These mutual funds and FoFs invest in US/global indices and can be purchased like any Indian mutual fund. Tax treatment since April 2023: taxed as debt funds at slab rate regardless of holding period.
India-listed international funds
- ✓ No LRS, no TCS — invest in ₹ like any SIP
- ✓ SEBI-regulated, AMFI data, easy rebalancing
- ✓ Accessible via Zerodha, Groww, any demat
- ✗ Taxed as debt (slab rate, any holding period) — high for 30% bracket
- ✗ FoF adds layer cost (underlying fund TER + India FoF TER)
- ✗ NAV premium/discount possible for ETF route
Direct LRS (Vested / Stockal)
- ✓ LTCG 12.5% after 24 months (better than slab)
- ✓ Access exact ETFs (VOO, QQQ, SCHD)
- ✓ USD denomination — direct forex benefit
- ✗ TCS 20% on remittances above ₹7L (reclaim in ITR)
- ✗ LRS compliance, Form A2 at bank
- ✗ USD 250K annual cap
| Fund | Index / Strategy | Geography | NAV | NAV as of | Cost note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin US Opportunities Axis Mutual Fund | Russell 3000 (active) | USA Broad | ₹105.8387 | 5 May | ~1.3% TER (active) |
| Kotak NASDAQ 100 FoF Invesco Mutual Fund | NASDAQ 100 | USA Tech | ₹12.7100 | 5 May | ~0.30% TER |
| Edelweiss US Tech Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund | NASDAQ 100 (active) | USA Tech | ₹162.4770 | 5 May | ~1.2% TER |
| DSP US Flexible Equity Mirae Asset Mutual Fund | Active US | USA Mixed | ₹20.7910 | 5 May | ~1.5% TER (active) |
| Mirae FANG+ ETF FoF Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund | NYSE FANG+ | USA Tech (10 stocks) | ₹64.3960 | 5 May | ~0.65% TER |
| ABSL Global Excellence PPFAS Mutual Fund | Global Large cap | Global | ₹91.2571 | 4 May | ~0.9% TER |
| ICICI US Bluechip SBI Mutual Fund | S&P 500 (active subset) | USA Large cap | ₹101.7547 | 5 May | ~1.3% TER (active) |
| PGIM Global Equity SBI Mutual Fund | Global (ex-India) | Global | ₹23.9961 | 5 May | ~1.2% TER (active) |
| Mirae S&P 500 Top 50 FoF quant Mutual Fund | S&P 500 Top 50 | USA Large cap | ₹284.6620 | 5 May | ~0.20% TER |
Tax treatment — post April 2023
All international mutual funds (including FoFs investing in US ETFs) lost their debt-fund indexation benefit in April 2023. They are now taxed at your slab rate (10/20/30%) on any gains, regardless of holding period. This is a significant change that makes them less tax-efficient than direct LRS investing for investors in the 30% bracket holding for 2+ years.
For investors in the 10–20% slab, or those with short-to-medium holding periods, India-listed international funds remain competitive because of the simplicity advantage — no bank remittance paperwork, no TCS, no LRS tracking.
Bottom line: Use our USD returns calculator to model: at your income tax slab, and expected USD return + INR depreciation, which route gives you more after-tax corpus at your intended holding period?